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Good morning. Let me welcome you all to this special meeting of the North Atlantic Council at its highest level, Heads of State and Government. When President Bush suggested to me that we have such a meeting, I warmly welcomed this initiative. And I am very pleased that you have all accepted my invitation to be here today.

I would also like to extend a special welcome to Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt of Belgium, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg of Norway, and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy who are also joining us for the first time in this configuration.

Also, welcome to the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of
the European Union, Dr. Javier Solana.

This is the first gathering of NATO Heads of State and Government since the
Washington Summit of April 1999.


Our meeting today is a reaffirmation of NATO's fundamental purpose: to embody the transatlantic link in a unique defence and security partnership. NATO's members represent a strong community of nations, committed to peace, democracy and security - and committed to defending these principles together. NATO's broad agenda illustrates how central the Alliance remains to building and preserving security in the Euro-Atlantic area.

Today, we are reviewing the progress we have achieved since Washington and charting the way forward for our Summit meeting next year in Prague.

We can look with pride at the dramatic transformation in the Balkans since our last meetings, even if some major problems remain, in particular in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (1).

The cooperation between NATO and EU is developing on both the institutional and the practical levels and we can see the benefits in the Balkans today. Much still remains to be done to make this relationship sound and satisfactory to all sides.

We have built a stronger relationship with Russia. The three new members, who participated for the first time in Washington, are now fully integrated.

The enlargement process has progressed in a structured and transparent way
through the Membership Action Plan.

All this is evidence that NATO remains the key forum where Europe and North America consult and cooperate together. NATO is as relevant as it ever has been in managing successfully our common security.

President Bush, would you like to say a few brief words at this stage in greeting your NATO colleagues?

Turkey recognises the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.